[Jody Barton]

I think Arrivabene going was mostly down to Seb, because Seb was not happy at Ferrari under Arrivabene who expected him to perform and let it be known he didn't think he was. Sure, publicly Arrivabene defended him, but it is no secret he pushed to have Leclerc in the second car, and amazingly Binottoe didn't think that was a wise move and wanted Kimi to stay on to keep Seb. Ultimately Seb has had the ultimate revenge by having Arrivabene bombed out of the team... although that's looking increasingly like a HUGE mistake. Binotto getting shot of all the Quality Assurance and marginal gains managers that Arrivabene brought in also looks like a mistake. Long story short Seb is not happy at Ferrari, hasn't been since 2017 I think.

Next, I don't think Seb was ever as good as the RBR made him out to be. Please bear with me on this one, firstly ask yourself if you think Mark Webber was a top F1 driver? You see I don't, I think Webber was OK on his day, but he was never going to threaten any of the record books, and he kept Seb honest, and that's with the team clearly favouring Seb. That says a lot. Then as soon as Ricciardo came into the team Seb looked ordinary, and he buggered off to Ferrari where he had a compliant number 2. Now with Leclerc there we're all questioning whether Leclerc is better than him. So yeah, I think we have to question how good Seb really is, there's no question in my mind that he is quick. He is. Give him a clear track and he'll give anyone a run for their money against the stopwatch. However, in wheel to wheel stuff he has often been found wanting, he's not as poor as some make out, but he's not the best.

Thirdly the competition. Lets be fair to Seb, and also acknowledge the era of F1 he has been driving in. In other era's I genuinely think the likes of Rosberg and Button would have been multiple champions. Then you have nearly men like Massa who were damn fine drivers, and people like Ricciardo and Bottas who are also both very rapid. Then you've got youngsters like Max, Charles, Ocon and now a few others coming through who are exceptional... and that's before we mention Alonso and of course Hamilton. This age of F1 we are genuinely blessed with some truly amazing drivers, and against that Seb has performed reasonably well. I don't think he was in the same bracket as Alonso or Hamilton, I don't, but he was in the next bracket down and has made the most of what he has had in his career, and that's to his credit, and I don't begrudge him that, but now as he is settling down with his family I question whether his drive is still there. Maybe if he was in a Mercedes it would be, but when you look at how Lewis and Alonso drobve in uncompetitive cars I don't see the same from Seb. Sad to say it but his career seems to be fizzling out, but he can hold his head up high because of what he has achieved.